Sites for Your Eyes: Stockholm

Part of the Sites for Your Eyes series aimed at travelers (actual and armchair), this entry takes viewers into the network of 30,000 fragmented islands in Sweden known as the Stockholm archipelago. While many islands are formed by volcanic activity, this archipelago came about after polar ice caps melted and Earth's mantle released enough pressure to allow the land to rise above the water, creating a unique and jagged combination of mini-coasts and ecosystems. Charmingly, this travelogue focuses on the people who call these jigsaw-puzzle-styled islands home, including schoolchildren who ride a small ferry to classes each day (with an enviable student-teacher ratio) and a farmer who shuttles herself and livestock from island to island, rotating the fields where her herds eat—as well as delivering produce by boat and four-wheeler to local markets. Swedish law allows visitors to enjoy the islands—kind of like camping on public lands in the U.S.—and here viewers will see a small group of tourists lounging in bathing suits on portable chairs, enjoying the sun and breezes of summer. Other titles in the series pay visits to hidden parts of France, Baja California, Italy, Spain, Canada, Senegal, and Western Scotland. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)